Condensing apparatus.



H. MENSFORTH.

CONDENSING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26. 1915.

1 ,229, 63 6 Patented June 12, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

IAAAKAAA INVENTOR'.

HIS ATTORNEY IN FACT NTTED @TAEE PATENT @FFTEE.

HOLBERRY TEENS FORTH. 0F MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE BRITISH WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC &, MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LIMITED, OF LONDON,

ENGLAND.

CONDENSING- APPARATUS.

Application filed June 26, 1915.

1 b all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HoLnnnnY Mens- FORTH, a subject of the Kihg of Great Britain, and a resident of Manchester, England, have made a new and useful Invention in Condensing Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to condensing apparatus and particularly to steam condensers of the surface type.

Owing to various causes it is necessary that the tubes of surface condensers, through which the circulating water flows, should be cleaned from time to time in order that the transference of heat from the steam in the condenser to the circulating water may not be unduly impeded and the efiiciency of the condenser thereby impaired.

Various suggestions have from time to time been proposed for enabling portions of a surface condenser to be disconnected and cleaned or repaired without throwing out. of service the whole condenser and to this end condensers divided up into separate compartments, having separate inlet and outlet valves for controlling the circu lating water, have been suggested.

According to the presentinvention I construct two separate condensers, each of which is substantially semi-cylindrical in shape, the tw condensers being installed with their dia etric plane faces in juxtaposition. A common exhaust pipe from one or more steam engines, turbines, or the like, may lead to the two condensers, the exhaust pipe being branched before reaching the steam inlet of each condenser. Similarly the pipes leading from the dis charge orifices for the condensate may converge into a single pipe leading to the extraction pump. The two branches of the steam inlet pipe may or may not be provided with valves, as may be found most desirable, but the outlet pipes leading from the condensate discharge ports should each have shut-ofi valves in those cases where said pipes converge into a single outlet pipe or lead to the same extraction pump. A separate ofi-take for air and noncondensable gases is provided for each condenser and these may also lead. to the same air ump, in which case each off-take must be iurnished with a shut-ofi' valve.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 12, 1917.

Serial No. 36,538.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is an end elevation of a condensing apparatus constructed in accordance therewith, the water bdx being removed, while Fig. 2 is a crosssection of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, illustrating two methods of staying the plane faces of the condenser shells. Fig. 3 is a cross section of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, illustrating the construction of the sagging plate hereinafter referred to. Fig. l is a" fragmentary longitudinal sectional elevation' of the condenser shown in Fig. 1, takenon the line A.\ of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrow; and Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 13-13 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrow.

In Fig. 1 the two semi-cylindrical condensers are indicated at 1, 1 installed as shown with their diametric plane faces in juxtaposition. Each condenser is respectively provided with a steam inlet 2, 2, which are united into a common steam main 3 leading to the turbine or other engine, to which the condensers are to be connected. 4, 1 indicate shut-off valves which may be provided, if desired, in th two branches of the steam main leading to the steam inlets of the condensers.

The condensate discharge pipes are indicated at 5, 5 respectively, and are here shown as converging into 'a single outlet pipe 6 leading to the extraction pump. Shut-off valves 8, 8 are provided in the pipes leading from the discharge pipes ahead of the point where they converge into the common outlet 6. The air suction pipes of the two condensers are indicated at 7, 7. If these lead to the same air'pump each air pipe must be provided with a shut-off valve. The tube plates of the two condensers are indicated respectively at 9, 9 In addition suitabl valves are provided for shutting off the circulating water to either of the condensers.

Condensers constructed as described with reference to Fig. l occupy approximately the same space as a single cylindrical condenser of equal capacity and possess the advantage that by closing the valves 4 and 8, or the valves 4* and 8 the appropriate valves in the water circulating system and if necessary the valve in the air suction pipe 7 or 7 either one of the condensers 1v or 1 may be cut out of service for the purpose of inspection and cleaning or re pair leaving the other condenser 1n operation, and thus the necessity for shutting down the engine or turbine or, in the alternative, providing an additional stand-by condenser is avoided.

Fig. 3 shows the plane portion 10 of the shell of the condenser 1 as being stayed by means of a sagging plate 11 secured in pos1-' from the upper to the lower portion of the steam space within the condenser. Alternatively, the web 14 instead of being cast integrally with the condenser shell may be made separate therefrom and secured thereto'by any suitable means, such, for instance, as lugs and fitting bolts in a similar manner to that in which the sagging plates 11 are held in position.

An advantage resulting from the use of condensers constructed in accordance with this invention is that the tube plates are trated herein, as various modifications may be made'in the same without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the airsuction outlets 7 ,7 may be omitted in those cases in which a wet air pump is used. Also, each of the condensers may be provided with its own extraction pump, in which case the condensate discharge pipes will not converge into a common outlet pipe and the shut-ofl valves in the pipes leading from said pipes may be omitted. It will also be understood that the circulating water system of the condensers may be arranged in any convenient and well known way.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:

1. Steam condensing apparatus comprising two separate cylindrical condensers havterior of the condenser and at right angles to the tubes.

3. A condenser having a semi-cylindrical hell, a stay for the flat wall of the shell, heated within the condenser between the relatively cheaper to make owing to the--flat wall and the cylindrical wall thereof width of the tube plates being small. The cost of the tube plates per pound weight increases with theirwidth and for cylindrical. condensers of large size are very expensive.

A further advantage resides in the fact that the size of the casting for the condenser shell is very much reduced, niaking'it much easier. to transport. Also, in the event of a defective casting the loss due to this cause is considerably diminished. These advantages are very perceptible in connection with condensers of'large size the weight of which is considerable and the cost of transportation very heavy.

The invention is not limited to the precise details of construction described-and illusand extending transversely across the connotnnnnr MENSFORTH.

Witnesses:

JOHN Monnrs, THOMAS BRADLUTON. 

